Her foot stepped into emptiness, and that familiar sensation of falling swept over her again.
This ti, Qiao Sang was prepared. She didn’t show any panic.
Realm No. 16 led directly into the air. Anyone wanting to land safely would need either a flying-type beast or a psychic-type beast ready in advance. She had read this in the information she bought yesterday.
“Xun Xun~”
Little Treasure’s eyes glowed blue, holding his Beast Master in the air.
“Yap!”
Yabao’s body expanded in size.
Qiao Sang was gently placed onto Yabao’s back.
The mission, collecting 500 grams of Penetrating Armor Beast's Tears, still had to co first. She had already decided her priorities before coming here.
Even if she wanted to save the Qingqing Ni Compass for ergencies, it wasn’t a guaranteed way to find Qingqing Ni anyway. Naturally, she had to put the mission first, then think about other matters with whatever ti was left.
Penetrating Armor Beast… a high-class ground-type beast, easily lured by sweet scents, fond of sticky treats. Qiao Sang recalled the data she studied, then thought of sothing.
She turned to Little Treasure and asked: “I rember we bought plenty of Sweet Nectar last ti, right? Still have any left?”
Sweet Nectar was a specialty from the Chaosu Star, beloved by beasts with a sweet tooth. Once shipped across interstellar space, the price skyrocketed. So she had stocked up on several crates.
“Xun Xun~”
Little Treasure chirped, saying he’d check.
He enlarged his storage ring and stuck his head inside to rummage.
“Xun Xun~”
About a minute later, he popped his head out, chirped again, and confird there was plenty left.
Good, Little Treasure hadn’t devoured it all. Qiao Sang let out a relieved breath.
“Take it out. You and Gangbao spread it as we walk. Every so often, scatter so to lure the Penetrating Armor Beast's out.”
“Gang Zhan?”
Gangbao asked curiously, what did an Penetrating Armor Beast's look like?
Qiao Sang pulled out her phone and showed a saved photo.
“Like this.”
Little Treasure and Gangbao leaned closer.
From the backpack, Lubao poked her head out, hopping onto her Beast Master’s head to peer at the picture too.
“Xun Xun~”
Little Treasure nodded in understanding. He pulled out two jars of Sweet Nectar and passed one to Gangbao.
“Lu Di.”
Lubao imdiately cried, asking for a jar too.
“Xun Xun~”
Little Treasure hurriedly handed one to her, his chirp unusually sweet, before grabbing another jar for himself.
Gangbao silently glanced at her older brother. Sohow, from that tone just now, she detected… a hint of flattery.
The three of them then spread out, scattering nectar in different directions.
Where it fell, wild beasts quickly gathered.
High above, a few flying beasts passed by. But one look at Yabao and Gangbao was enough to keep them from attacking.
So that post on the forums about flying-types respecting strength must have been true. Qiao Sang stayed alert while observing the surroundings.
Then she thought of sothing.
She’d be in this secret realm for a month. Wouldn’t it be wise to capture an electric-type beast that could recharge her phone? She didn’t want to end up like in the last secret realm, ti blurred until she nearly overstayed.
If she lost track of the days, and the secret realm closed while she was still inside… that would be disastrous.
She checked her phone battery, 91% left.
In this region, the known phone-charging beasts included the Little Electric Pig, Electric-Tail Worm…
Her gaze flickered and there, among the beasts happily lapping up nectar, was one with a yellow body and lightning-shaped antennae on its head. An Electric-Tail Worm.
“Catch that Electric-Tail Worm.” Qiao Sang ordered.
Little Treasure blinked, set his nectar jar on Yabao’s back, and pulled out the Pet Beast Identifier from his storage ring.
Qiao Sang sighed.
“No, that one. The insect with lightning-shaped feelers.”
“Xun Xun~”
Little Treasure put down the identifier and instead focused his psychic power on the Electric-Tail Worm.
The bug was snatched up mid-bite and lifted into the air.
The surrounding small beasts shrieked and fled in panic.
“Diànwěi!”
The worm flailed wildly, sparking yellow arcs of electricity. But against Little Treasure’s psychic grip, it was useless.
It was dragged up to Qiao Sang.
“Diànwěi!”
The bug glared at the strange human before it, fury, hostility, defiance in its eyes. Electricity crackled brighter around it.
As the sparks gathered into a ball, ready to fire, Qiao Sang calmly picked up a jar of nectar and said: “If you stay with and help recharge my phone every day, I’ll feed you this daily.”
The worm froze.
Its sparks fizzled out.
A minute later, it was happily munching nectar on Yabao’s back.
Qiao Sang let out a breath. That solved the charging issue. But the Penetrating Armor Beast still hadn’t shown. Maybe they were deeper in… or maybe the nectar portion was too small to lure larger ones.
She frowned. Just dumping nectar endlessly wasn’t efficient. Perhaps she should look for the kind of underground terrain Armor Beetles liked… but the data only said they dwell underground, with no specifics.
“Diànwěi.”
The Electric-Tail Worm chirped.
Qiao Sang glanced at it. Seeing its gaze fixed on her, she asked: “What is it saying? Translate.”
Little Treasure hovered nearby, scattering more nectar.
“Xun Xun~” He explained that the worm didn’t know how to charge a phone, but it could learn.
Right, wild Electric-Tail Worms in the secret realm had never seen phones. Outside, trained ones knew.
So she pulled out her phone and demonstrated.
“Touch this port with your antenna.”
The worm complied.
“Now release just a trickle of power.”
It sparked gently.
The phone’s battery jumped from 91% to 94%.
“Good job.” Qiao Sang praised, patting its head.
“Diànwěi~”
The worm jolted in shock. Too much current surged out.
BOOM!
The phone exploded.
Silence.
After a couple seconds, the worm clutched its nectar, leapt off Yabao’s back, and tried to flee.
But Qiao Sang snatched its tail.
“Diànwěi~”
The worm froze, squeaked nervously, pretending innocence.
“You’re not just going to run off, are you?” She asked coldly.
“Diànwěi, diànwěi!”
It shook its head frantically. Of course not, it just wanted a better view of the scenery.
“Xun Xun, Xun Xun.”
Little Treasure translated, deadpan.
Qiao Sang breathed deeply, steadying herself. Really, it wasn’t entirely the worm’s fault. A wild beast, unaccustod to human touch, of course it lost control when startled.
She regretted petting it at all.
“…Do you know where the Penetrating Armor Beast's are?” She asked at last.
“That creature I showed you on the screen before the phone blew up. Tell where, or help find it, and the nectar stays yours.”
She pried the nectar jar from its little arms.
“Diànwěi?”
The worm hesitated, why?
“I just need its tears.” She clarified, with Little Treasure translating.
“Diànwěi?”
Only that?
“Only that.” Qiao Sang assured.
After staring at her for two seconds, the worm nodded. But, it had a condition.
“Xun Xun~” Little Treasure relayed: It wanted two more jars of nectar.
“You’ll get three.” Qiao Sang said generously.
“Diànwěi!”
The worm lit up and began leading the way.
The No. 16 Secret Realm split in two halves,mnorth, a land of eternal spring;
south, an icy wasteland.
The forum post guessed this division was because of two overlord beasts: The Ancient-Winged Bird in the north and the Frostbird in the south.
The deeper inside one went, the stronger and fiercer the beasts. Younger ones near the outskirts were rely curious of humans. But older ones, decades old, had seen humans before. They were far more violent.
About forty minutes later, the worm pointed down at a sheer cliff overgrown with vines and greenery.
“This is the place?” Qiao Sang asked.
“Diànwěi!”
It nodded firmly.
The cliff face was blanketed in erald foliage. Towering ancient trees lood overhead, dimming the light. Even the wild beasts nearby rely glanced at Qiao Sang’s group before resuming their business.
Strange atmosphere…
“Pour so nectar down there.” She instructed.
“Xun Xun~”
Little Treasure dumped a whole jar.
The nectar vanished into the vines instantly.
“Yap Yap…”
Yabao bristled, sensing danger.
“Use the Pet Beast Identifier.” Qiao Sang ordered.
“Xun Xun~”
Little Treasure scanned.
The device chirped back:
“Ah! Master, long ti no use~ Let’s see… Vine-Rock Giant! Grass and rock dual-type, Emperor-level. Much larger than most of its rank. Loves disguising itself as cliffs or peaks. Its crystals absorb sunlight and unleash devastating beams. But, at night or in rain, it can’t fire. Right now isn’t night, and it isn’t raining. Better not provoke it~”
The words had barely finished when the cliff opened cold, yellow eyes.
The mountain wall began to move.
With thunderous rumbles, boulders tumbled down. Two colossal claws, each over ten ters long, tore free from the stone.
The wild beasts nearby calmly stepped aside to watch, eyes glinting with amusent, as though anticipating a spectacle.
“Xun Xun…”
Little Treasure’s jaw dropped.
So it was a beast… a gigantic one.
Perched on Yabao’s back, Qiao Sang gazed down at the Vine-Rock Giant. Her voice stayed calm: “Are you certain the Penetrating Armor Beast is beneath it?”
“Diànwěi!”
The worm nodded vigorously.
Almost imdiately, hundreds of massive stone spikes, each two ters long, materialized in the air, then plumted toward them like a rain of spears.
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